Pursuits
Sean Parker Seeks Cure for Type 1 Diabetes With $10 Million Gift
- Napster co-founder has previously donated to medical research
- Interest in autoimmune diseases spurred by Parker's allergies
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Silicon Valley entrepreneur Sean Parker donated $10 million to create a research center at the University of California at San Francisco that he hopes can find a cure for Type 1 diabetes in five years.
Parker’s donation will establish an autoimmune disease research laboratory within UCSF’s Diabetes Center, headed by immunologist Jeffrey Bluestone, the university said Tuesday in a statement. Patients with Type 1 diabetes, also known as juvenile diabetes, don’t have insulin because their immune system attacks cells in the pancreas that normally produce the naturally occurring hormone. Insulin helps transport glucose to the body’s cells from the blood. Without it, sugar builds up in the blood, leaving the body starved of the energy it needs.